Saucycarpdog Member Oct 25, 2017 20,317 On Steam the game is reaching CCU numbers it hasn't gotten in years. Console is harder to see but the game is #22 on Xbox Most Played charts right behind Overwatch 2. It's usually out of the top 50. Crazy to see. I'm guessing it's the Andor effect?  giancarlo123x One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 28,002 The game still fucks. The game was in such a great spot with the anniversary update then they pulled the plug on content.   AgentOtaku Member Oct 27, 2017 4,586 Saucycarpdog said: On Steam the game is reaching CCU numbers it hasn't gotten in years. Console is harder to see but the game is #22 on Xbox Most Played charts right behind Overwatch 2. It's usually out of the top 50. Crazy to see. I'm guessing it's the Andor effect? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, noticed it creeping up the last few weeks. Insane and probably the Andor effect.  ASleepingMonkey The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 4,579 Iowa This game is very, very popular among gen Z in particular. It is hard for me to scroll Instagram or TikTok without seeing a post about it. Younger people adore this game, particularly those who love the prequels.  Hella Member Oct 27, 2017 24,492 Guess it's time to reinstall Battlefront 2. Game is super fun Thank you for the PSA, OP.  HockeyBird Member Oct 27, 2017 13,798 You have friends everywhere when you play Battlefront II.   Neverx Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer Member Sep 17, 2020 3,854 Florida It's a perfect storm of the yearly May 4th resurgence, Revenge of the Sith rerelease and Andor S2. Been playing a bit recently and the game is still great, such a shame they pulled the plug. Really excited for Zero Company and Jedi 3 but we really need a new Battlefront.   Fuchsia Member Oct 28, 2017 7,249 It's honestly a fantastic game after all the work that was put into it post launch. It's still a blast to fire up today. Really sad that they basically killed support right when it was starting to become an all timer.  Nocturnowl Member Oct 25, 2017 28,294 It's all fun and games until the god players who have been playing eternally earn a hero like Yoda early on and the rest of the game becomes a slasher sim where your lil trooper or droid lives in constant terror of the unstoppable turbo speed lightsaber spam racing towards you Neat to see it have a resurgence though, not big on star wars these days but I did have a lot of fun playing this messy arse game with friends  JakeNoseIt Catch My Drift Verified Oct 27, 2017 4,751 Woah I don't watch Andor but I randomly redownloaded the game like a week ago and have been having fun poking around   Zebesian-X Member Dec 3, 2018 25,362 great game kneecapped by its monetization strategy. Sad that they abandoned it right as it was hitting its stride. Glad to see people playing! Shame we never got a third one   Prison_mike Banned Oct 26, 2017 1,676 Hell yeah I bet Fortnight is a reason too. I need to renew my online for this, dammit  DrScruffleton Member Oct 26, 2017 14,887 game was killed way too soon. Imagine all the crazy promotional stuff we couldve gotten over the years with show tie ins and stuff.   dodo Member Oct 27, 2017 4,293 I'm part of the wave!   Creed Bratton Member Aug 29, 2019 782 I jumped back in after playing the new Star Wars Fortnite content. It made me want a true SW experience.   Gleethor Member Oct 25, 2017 4,215 Dot Matrix with stereo sound Coulda had so much new content had they stuck with it. Or at least a third game to break the curse.   AgentOtaku Member Oct 27, 2017 4,586 ASleepingMonkey said: This game is very, very popular among gen Z in particular. It is hard for me to scroll Instagram or TikTok without seeing a post about it. Younger people adore this game, particularly those who love the prequels. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Haha, makes sense. Both my sons adored it. We really should have gotten another one :/  Parker Member Feb 5, 2018 698 Also, the people who got it for free on EGS   Lord Vatek Avenger Jan 18, 2018 24,748 Fortnite, May 4th, and Andor all likely play a part. I haven't checked, but I'd wager that Star Wars The Old Republic is seeing a similar bump.  dodo Member Oct 27, 2017 4,293 I'm still not a big fan of the card loadout system and I wish the vehicles were handled differently, but when it's hitting it has that DICE magic. Great visuals, amazing sound, loving attention to detail.   Corv Member Aug 5, 2022 645 Prison_mike said: Hell yeah I bet Fortnight is a reason too. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah the current Fortnite season made me want to boot it up   Forerunner Resetufologist The Fallen Oct 30, 2017 18,835 Dice dropping support of this right when all the new SW content was being released was weird, they could have added so much to it.   Strikerrr Member Oct 25, 2017 2,858 I've seen a big push from Arc Raiders fans who are suffering from tech test withdrawl. Even though they're very different games, there's some aspects about the movement and shooting which feel somewhat similar considering that a lot of the staff at DICE went to Embark after BF1/V. IIRC some devs who were at Motive during Battlefront 2's development commented that the initial Arc Raiders reveal when it was still a PvE game looked similar to some gameplay concepts that were originally pitched from Battlefront 2. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuftkDxjGT4 I could see this as built from a discarded Battlefront coop mode where you take down AT-ATs  OhhEldenRing Member Aug 14, 2024 2,860 The Jade Raymond effect. It's been in the news that was her last big release.   Santos Member Oct 25, 2017 1,376 Have they addressed hacking on PC? Tried play again on PC a couple of years ago and there were tons of hackers everywhere to the point they were removing map objectives lol.   Jona Basta Member May 13, 2025 27 Santos said: Have they addressed hacking on PC? Tried play again on PC a couple of years ago and there were tons of hackers everywhere to the point they were removing map objectives lol. Click to expand... Click to shrink... There's a New Project Called Kyber that fixes that + introduces a lot of new things, but they keep pushing back the release date on that while pushing their Patreon so I'm not feeling to hot on it personally.   Fuchsia Member Oct 28, 2017 7,249 Now, more than ever, I feel a new Battlefront would be so incredible. The issue is how do you feasibly make a game that would have enough content from each era of Star Wars to do it all justice? It would take so much manpower and time.   OP OP Saucycarpdog Member Oct 25, 2017 20,317 Also, if any of y'all have Insurgency Sandstorm on PC, you can try the new Star Wars Sagas mod. View: https://youtu.be/1qfHDopTd3k?si=W_vKAw-W4NWNK2ic   Cheesy Member Oct 30, 2017 2,564 Saucycarpdog said: Also, if any of y'all have Insurgency Sandstorm on PC, you can try the new Star Wars Sagas mod. View: https://youtu.be/1qfHDopTd3k?si=W_vKAw-W4NWNK2ic Click to expand... Click to shrink... Oh damn I didn't know that game got any mods that weren't just a bunch of really tacticool guns. I'll have to take a look.  Jona Basta Member May 13, 2025 27 Saucycarpdog said: Also, if any of y'all have Insurgency Sandstorm on PC, you can try the new Star Wars Sagas mod. View: https://youtu.be/1qfHDopTd3k?si=W_vKAw-W4NWNK2ic Click to expand... Click to shrink... there's also the fantastic Squad Mod Galactic Contention: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIgrE5Bhvxs  Prasino95 Member Feb 18, 2025 6 Such a shame they messed up the remaster of the original so bad, bet that would have got a surge too.   Mocha Joe Member Jun 2, 2021 13,433 I should reinstall. I never gave it an honest try after strongly disliking the first one. Spent $40 on basically a tech demo and I was a fucking idiot and bought the season pass. I never have bought a season pass since then   danhz Member Apr 20, 2018 3,539 Hopefully i can play sone games tomorrow, Game was fire 🔥🔥   luca Member Oct 25, 2017 19,417 Never mind. It's the fps Battlefront game. I loved the single player campaign.   tjh282 Member May 29, 2019 1,097 My youngest brother and his friends have this in their MP rotation and they're not even huge SW fans. Marketing campaign killed this on arrival, but I loved both of the new BFs   Dance Inferno Member Oct 29, 2017 2,739 Saucycarpdog said: Also, if any of y'all have Insurgency Sandstorm on PC, you can try the new Star Wars Sagas mod. View: https://youtu.be/1qfHDopTd3k?si=W_vKAw-W4NWNK2ic Click to expand... Click to shrink... Woah WTF how have I never heard of this? This looks dope, downloading this ASAP.  Richietto One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 26,052 North Carolina There's also a huge mod called Kyler that'll really bring life to the game.   Man Called Aerodynamics Member Oct 29, 2017 8,327 I'm not a fan of BF2 in particular (that campaign sucked) but it's always nice to see older games get rediscovered or retain popularity.   Papercuts Prophet of Truth Member Oct 25, 2017 12,726 Feel like this happened a few years back too, I remember actually picking it back up and having a surprisingly good time.   panic Member Oct 26, 2024 83 Last time I tried to play this my team was being completely obliterated on spawn by players using starfighters.   thediamondage Member Oct 25, 2017 13,613 i am jonesing hard for Star Wars after Andor so no surprise, rewatching movies now but i'll probably play Star Wars Outlaws next although Battlefront 2 isn't a bad idea, I loved that game in the first year. Its dumb as hell but it can be super fun too if you are just in it for vibes. Publishers should be discounting star wars games heavy right now, its an automatic impulse buy i think  ASleepingMonkey The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 4,579 Iowa AgentOtaku said: Haha, makes sense. Both my sons adored it. We really should have gotten another one :/ Click to expand... Click to shrink... I would like to see DICE give it another go after Battlefield 6. I assume no matter what, they're going to want to shake it up a bit after close to another decade of nothing but Battlefield and so long as Battlefield 6 is good, it can probably sustain itself for a while. Going back to Battlefront would be great. I just want a better campaign this time, taking some cues from Andor and placing you in the shoes of just an ordinary person in this galactic war would be a great starting point.  BrickArts295 GOTY Tracking Thread Master Member Oct 26, 2017 15,642 It's 100% Andor + Fortnite Star Wars Event /recent rerelease of Episode III. I caught the fever and even went back to get the platinum for Jedi Survivor cause I just wanted to play anything Star Wars. It's crazy how cursed Battlefront 3 is. Seems like both times we could have had the ultimate Star Wars game which would built up from their last 2 iterations. EA seems to be fine with working on Star Wars despite their latest stance on license titles, maybe DICE will be given one more go at it.  Javier23 Member Oct 28, 2017 3,230 I for one have been thinking about giving this a try because of Fortnite's current SW season.   wellpapp Member Aug 21, 2018 531 Gothenburg Wasnt the servers 100% broken by all the cheaters?   The Quentulated Mox Corrupted by Vengeance Member Jun 10, 2022 6,566 On the one hand, I love andor in large part because of how much it does different from the rest of the franchise and I think blending it in with all the rest of the stuff risks diluting it On the other hand, imagine a Ferrix map in battlefront. Imagine a Narkina 5 map. Imagine blasting a truck full of troopers on Mina-Rau from your tie avenger. Imagine switching Cassian's gun into sniper configuration. Imagine spinning your Fondor haulcraft a billion times and shredding everything around you. Need  BubbaKrumpz The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 3,849 Yay Area Papercuts said: Feel like this happened a few years back too, I remember actually picking it back up and having a surprisingly good time. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, I went in with some of my buds and it was a great time. I've enjoyed the game since release though. I hav a friend who only plays battlefront 2 and most recently fortnite  Excelsior Member Oct 28, 2017 1,058 wellpapp said: Wasnt the servers 100% broken by all the cheaters? Click to expand... Click to shrink... This is what I heard too, is it playable?  Chromie Member Dec 4, 2017 5,742 AgentOtaku said: Yeah, noticed it creeping up the last few weeks. Insane and probably the Andor effect. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I will always love Star Wars but man, Andor has made Star Wars chatter online so positive that I jumped back into BF2.   Doctor Shatner The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 252 Lol I literally reinstalled this because of Andor (have had zero content creators mention it outside of watching old Giant Bomb E3 videos). So at least for me it was that! Funny to see such a weird hivemind esque effect going on there. Game is still fun but I have to pretend I'm a literal stormtrooper with my skill level. The number of crazyhigh ranks who fly around as vader/yoda, etc after a couple minutes into the match and insta gib me would drive me mad if I played seriously. 

Polaris has been the constant guide for explorers and navigators in the northern hemisphere for thousands of years, hence its other name, the famous North Star. It is significant where it is located near the north rotational axis of Earth, and the whole sky appears to spin about it. But that's not always been the case, and it won't always be the case. The planet's sluggish axial wobble, called precession, makes the pole trace a circle about every 26,000 years, bringing different stars into view over the ages.How Earth's 26,000-Year Axial Precession Shifts the North Star Over TimeAs per NASA, gravitational forces from the sun and moon affect the rotation of Earth; these produce a bulge at the equator and axial precession. Every 26,000 years or so, this wobble makes a complete circle, and it makes the celestial pole move on a cycle, pointing to stars in sequence over time. Thuban, in the star constellation Draco, was the closest visible in the sky to the celestial pole some 4,700 years ago. The stars, such as Kochab and Pherkad, were the nearest to the pole about 3,000 years ago. Polaris now has the title, but not for very long.The axis of the Earth will eventually change again, bringing new stars into prominence. In about 2,200 years, Errai in the constellation Cepheus will become the North Star. Alderamin, likewise in Cepheus, will have its turn some 5,000 years from now. Deneb, who will approach the pole once more about 9,800 CE, and Vega, a former pole star, returning in roughly 12,000 years, complete this cycle.Many of these stars fit identifiable constellations, including Cepheus, Draco, and Ursa Minor. Modern stargazing apps incorporating augmented reality for nighttime sky navigation allow amateur astronomers to trace their positions.As Polaris continues to shine overhead today, its reign is only temporary. Earth's steady 26,000-year precessional cycle guarantees that other stars will eventually take its place, proving that even in the cosmos, change is constant.

Crossing Eden Member Oct 26, 2017 58,491 Doug Cockle had some words to say to people who think Ciri being the protag of the Witcher is some "woke" sin or affront to the material of the Witcher. The Witcher 4 was officially announced at the 2024 Game Awards, and it kicked the hornet's nest by daring to have Ciri star as its protagonist. Geralt's voice actor, Doug Cockle, strongly defends the choice. "It's a cool character from the Witcher, and they're gonna focus on that character," he says during a Fall Damage video, responding to a post regarding people calling Ciri's newfound spotlight "woke." "I think that's awesome. You can't just have Geralt for every single game for The Witcher ad nauseam through eternity." Click to expand... Click to shrink... To avoid any doubt on where he stands, he continues: "Celebrate Ciri, I celebrate her being the protagonist. So all you people who think it's 'woke' [blows raspberry]... If you read the books, then you understand why CD Projekt went down this avenue. Click to expand... Click to shrink... As the years have gone by, the books have become more about Ciri. Geralt may be a witcher, but he's getting old, so passing the torch was inevitable. It's either that, or no more Witcher. Click to expand... Click to shrink... More at the source. "You can't just have Geralt for every single game" says his voice actor, and if you think The Witcher 4 making Ciri the protagonist is "woke," then "read the damn books" The story was always going in this direction www.gamesradar.com Highkey tho, And yes that applies to the people who wrote entire essays about how women can't be witchers because A)that's fucking stupid B)CDPR already reinforced that retcon by including the School of The Cat in TW3  Last edited: 17 minutes ago closer Member Oct 25, 2017 5,592 Asking ppl who call it woke to read is sort of a large ask   Zukkoyaki Member Oct 25, 2017 14,290 Jokes on him because reading is woke   Catchphrase Member Nov 28, 2023 2,329 if those chuds could read they'd be very upset   MarcosBrXD Member Aug 28, 2024 1,701 9/11 for chuds   Kadzork Has got mad skills!! Member Oct 27, 2017 24,158   Jedi2016 Member Oct 27, 2017 20,058 Just got my lynx medallion a few days ago, it's hanging right next to my wolf medallion. I'll be there day one.   SomeOneInaHat Member Nov 9, 2017 1,135 Edit: Beaten by better version  Xterrian Member Apr 20, 2018 3,552 Any female protagonist is "woke" to these people. It's just that some were too engrained in pop culture/their franchises before the whole chud movement got started, so they're seen as "female protags done right." If Lord of the Rings was done today, there'd be endless rage over Eowyn being the one to kill the Witch King. Same with Leia's role in Star Wars.  OP OP Crossing Eden Member Oct 26, 2017 58,491 Xterrian said: Any female protagonist is "woke" to these people. It's just that some were too engrained in pop culture/their franchises before the whole chud movement got started, so they're seen as "female protags done right." If Lord of the Rings was done today, there'd be endless rage over Eowyn being the one to kill the Witch King. Same with Leia's role in Star Wars. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Hard ditto on Leia, this shit would break people's minds if only because so many characters who're inspired by Leia break their minds.   Lotus One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 124,050   bitcloudrzr Member May 31, 2018 20,757 MarcosBrXD said: 9/11 for chuds Click to expand... Click to shrink... That was KCD2.   ClickyCal' Member Oct 25, 2017 65,480 Xterrian said: Any female protagonist is "woke" to these people. It's just that some were too engrained in pop culture/their franchises before the whole chud movement got started, so they're seen as "female protags done right." If Lord of the Rings was done today, there'd be endless rage over Eowyn being the one to kill the Witch King. Same with Leia's role in Star Wars. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah. Like to them, Jill Valentine, Samus, Lara Croft and some others are grandfathered in, but would break them.   jmood88 Member Oct 28, 2017 1,726 It's not going to change much, but it's always nice to see someone explicitly push back against the disingenuous conservative bullshit.   Lotus One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 124,050 bitcloudrzr said: That was KCD2. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Or Stellar Blade  DoradoWinston Member Apr 9, 2019 8,387 idk how you play witcher 3 and not think Ciri (who everyone also LOVED btw) wasnt going to be the protag for 4 lol   Yerffej Prophet of Regret Member Oct 25, 2017 29,455 I just wish every answer about these creeps and their likes and dislikes was met with "who fucking cares about them or what they want?" Every time. And that's all. Because they do not matter.   Dark Fairy Princess Member Feb 5, 2025 338 Dracula’s Castle Hate these sexist losers that calls everything woke. I tried not to pay attention to them but it's frustrating to see how stupid and hateful some people could be. Hope Witcher 4 becomes even more successful than 3 just to piss them off more. Witcher 3 is one of the best games I've played. Most of the characters were well made. I like Geralt but always liked Ciri more and wanted more parts with her so I'm glad they went with her as the main character.  OP OP Crossing Eden Member Oct 26, 2017 58,491 ClickyCal' said: Yeah. Like to them, Jill Valentine, Samus, Lara Croft and some others are grandfathered in, but would break them. Click to expand... Click to shrink... They unironically argued that these are woke ugly versions of Jill and Lara, so yes they did get broken by them.   NHarmonic. ▲ Legend ▲ The Fallen Oct 27, 2017 10,778 Catchphrase said: if those chuds could read they'd be very upset Click to expand... Click to shrink... Instant reminder of that "reading is gay" tweet from mastermind turd Tate. 

News Health & Medicine RSV wasn’t as hard on U.S. babies last winter. This may be why It was the first RSV season a maternal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody were widely available A hospitalized infant receives treatment for bronchiolitis, a lung infection most commonly caused by respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. In the first RSV season that a maternal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody to prevent severe RSV lung infections in babies were widely available, RSV hospitalization rates for infants up to 7 months old dropped, compared with earlier seasons. BSIP SA/Alamy Stock Photo By Aimee Cunningham 1 hour ago Last winter’s respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, season wasn’t as brutal for U.S. babies. A new study suggests two preventive tools — a maternal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody for infants — may have helped. The 2024-25 RSV season was the first in which the vaccine and the monoclonal antibody, which can prevent severe RSV lung infections in babies, were widely available. A study of two hospital surveillance systems found that RSV hospitalization rates last winter for babies up to 7 months old were lower than in two combined RSV seasons prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers report May 8 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Those earlier RSV seasons were the most recent that were typical — meaning not altered by the COVID-19 pandemic — without the RSV preventive tools. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Valve has dismissed widespread reports of a data breach that supposedly compromised the account details of over 89 million Steam users. In a brief but firm post, Valve said it has examined the leaked data and confirmed that Steam’s systems had not been breached, and users did not need to change their passwords or phone numbers. The leak consisted of old text messages containing one-time authentication codes that had all expired. These were linked to the phone numbers they were sent to, but the phone numbers were not linked to any account details. “The leaked data did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data,” Valve said. “Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account, and whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password using SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages. “You do not need to change your passwords or phone numbers as a result of this event. It is a good reminder to treat any account security messages that you have not explicitly requested as suspicious.” Valve said it has not determined the source of the leak, noting that SMS messages like those leaked are unencrypted and pass through multiple providers. Earlier reports had suggested that a vendor used by Valve to send the authentication codes was the source. According to the initial reports, such as this LinkedIn post by Underdark.ai, the data had been posted on the dark web for sale at a price of $5,000. So, we can all rest easy. But it’s a good reminder to turn on two-factor authentication for Steam (and all your online accounts), and to be suspicious of unsolicited messages.

Theoretically, Suits LA had a lot of things going for it. It was released on the heels of Suits’ Netflix renaissance, it came from the same creator as the original series, Aaron Korsh, and even promised the return of fan-favorite original characters like Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). But unfortunately, none of those were quite enough to make Suits LA worth the watch. And viewers concurred, with NBC canceling the show after one season. To start, Suits LA just doesn’t have as compelling of a hook as its predecessor. The inciting incident in Suits involves Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) being hired by Harvey Specter to the prestigious Pearson Hardman law firm, despite the fact that he doesn’t have a law degree. We spend the entire first season wondering if Mike and Harvey’s ruse will be discovered all the while watching Mike outperform his peers who actually went to Harvard law. Now the first season of Suits is by no means perfect, but it has enough of a draw to keep us watching. Aside from the gripping premise, the characters have phenomenal chemistry – it’s not hard to believe that many of them have worked together for years. In Suits LA, on the other hand, the series begins with an unexpected betrayal between law partners Ted Black (Stephen Amell) and Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt). Lane shuts Black out of a merger with another law firm, and essentially leaves him to fend for himself. It’s an interesting idea, and certainly a shocking way to begin the series, but with very little context of who these people are and why we should care about them, the betrayal ultimately falls flat. Suits has done this kind of thing multiple times. Pearson Hardman goes through a number of mergers and restructurings throughout the series’ nine seasons. But the series does so once we’re familiar enough with these characters to recognize the stakes. The underhanded deals and betrayals hit harder because we know what they have to gain and lose. The characters of Suits LA also fail to match the level of chemistry the original cast had. Even though there were plenty of characters in Suits who didn’t get along, they still had a compelling rapport with each other. In Suits LA, it just feels like everybody hates each other, but not in any way that’s remotely interesting. Erica (Lex Scott Davis) essentially gets mad at Leah (Alice Lee) for having work boundaries just because she doesn’t know how to say no herself. Guest stars Patton Oswalt and Brian Baumgartner have beef not once, but twice in a season for some reason. Ted and Stuart have a somewhat similar relationship to Harvey and Louis – Stuart feels like Ted constantly belittles his skills but also considers Ted to be his best friend and like a brother to him. But despite the fact that the series brings in both Harvey and Louis to try and get that idea through to us, Ted and Stuart still can’t escape their shadow. Bringing Harvey and Louis into Suits LA reminds us how good we had it with the original series, and that no matter how hard this show tries it just can’t capture that same magic. “There can be many, many reasons why [Suits LA isn’t resonating], people are speculating why it hasn’t resonated, but it’s just not really showing the potential to grow for us in the future, unfortunately,” Jeff Bader, the president of program planning strategy at NBCUniversal Entertainment told reporters after the show’s cancellation. “We had to look at the performance of the shows, both on linear and on digital. We had to see the ones that looked like they had growth potential in the future.” It is a shame that TV shows don’t have as much room to grow as they once did. Who’s to say that Suits LA wouldn’t have found its stride in a second season as so many other network shows have before? But at the same time, the show should have been able to stand on its own. Its ties to Suits should be enough to bring fans in, but it’s up to the show itself and its new characters to keep them tuning in.  It seems pretty clear now that not even bringing back fan favorite characters was enough to give Suits LA the viewership numbers it needed to keep up with its predecessor nor was it enough to make the series worth tuning into. Watching Harvey and Louis interact with these characters just reminds how good we had it, and how badly Suits LA missed the mark.

New Research By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption Archaeologists are learning new details about the four individuals’ futile attempt to hide inside an ancient residence called the House of Helle and Phrixus A bed frame shoved against the door served as a makeshift barricade. Pompeii Archaeological Park In 79 C.E., Mount Vesuvius erupted, spewing ash and small volcanic pellets known as lapilli over the city of Pompeii. Nearly 1,950 years later, archaeologists are still sifting through the layers of debris and making remarkable discoveries about life—and death—in the ancient city. Researchers recently discovered four members of a family, including a child, who attempted to escape the eruption by barricading themselves inside a bedroom, according to a statement from the Pompeii Archaeological Park. Though their efforts were futile, their remains provide remarkable insight into the doomed city’s final moments. When the eruption began, most residents of Pompeii “had no clue what was happening,” Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the park and co-author of a new study published in the journal Scavi di Pompei, tells the New York Times’ Sara Novak. “Many thought the end of the world had come.” A majority of the 15,000 to 20,000 residents of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum fled and survived the eruption. The four family members were among the roughly 2,000 Pompeians who remained when the city was destroyed. As Helle struggles in the sea, Phrixus reaches out to his sister from atop a flying ram. Pompeii Archaeological Park Archaeologists found the family’s remains in a small but stately residence known as the House of Helle and Phrixus, named after a fresco of the mythological siblings discovered on the dining room wall. In Greek myth, the siblings survive their stepmother’s attempt to sacrifice them to the gods by flying away on a ram with a golden fleece. While Phrixus escapes, Helle falls off the ram into the sea. The fresco captures the siblings reaching out to each other—Helle in the sea, Phrixus on the ram—in a fittingly futile attempt at rescue. The architectural features of the house may have accelerated the family’s demise. Like many Roman houses, the House of Helle and Phrixus featured an open-roofed atrium, intended to aid rainwater collection. But as lapilli fell from the sky during the first phase of the eruption, the rock debris, which reached up to nine feet in some locations, quickly flooded the house through the atrium. At first, the archaeological evidence shows, the four individuals tried to protect themselves by packing into a small room. They even pushed a wooden bed frame against the door, hoping that it would prevent the lapilli from entering.When that failed, the researchers think they pulled back the barricade and attempted to escape. Based on the location of the remains, they only got as far as the triclinium, or dining room. “This house, with its decorations and its objects, shows us people who tried to save themselves,” says Zuchtriegel in the statement, per a translation by La Brújula Verde’s Guillermo Carvajal. “They didn’t succeed, but their story is still here, beneath the ashes.” Over the centuries, the ash preserved the remains of the family, the wooden bed frame and other items, including a bronze amulet known as a bulla and a stash of amphorae filled with garum, a popular Roman fish sauce. Ash and lapilli flooded into through the open-roofed atrium, burying the house in up to nine feet of debris. Pompeii Archaeological Park Researchers don’t know that this particular family owned the House of Helle and Phrixus. The group may have taken refuge there after the owners fled, as Marcello Mogetta, an archaeologist and Roman art historian at the University of Missouri who wasn’t involved in the study, tells the Times. Still, the recovered objects offer a glimpse into Pompeian family life. For instance, the child was likely the one wearing the bronze bulla, as tradition dictated that boys wear such amulets for protection until adulthood. Additionally, traces of masonry materials suggest that the house was under renovation. As Zuchtriegel says in the statement, “Excavating Pompeii means confronting the beauty of art, but also the fragility of life.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

U.S. President Donald Trump opened his four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.Prince Mohammed warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital and kicked off his Middle East tour.The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts. Fighter jet escort The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a lunch at the Royal Court, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue accents and massive crystal chandeliers.As he greeted business titans with Trump by his side, Prince Mohammed was animated and smiling.It was a stark contrast to his awkward fist bump with then-President Joe Biden, who looked to avoid being seen on camera shaking hands with the prince during a 2022 visit to the kingdom.Biden had decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia as he looked to alleviate soaring prices at the pump for motorists at home and around the globe.At the time, Prince Mohammed’s reputation had been badly damaged by a U.S. intelligence determination that found he had ordered the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.But that dark moment appeared to be distant memory for the prince as he rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives — including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — in front of the cameras and with Trump by his side.Later, the crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner. Trump is also slated to take part Tuesday in a U.S.-Saudi investment conference.“When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen — more often than not, great things happen,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said. Oil production Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production. Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.But Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It’s questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.“One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn’t necessarily imperil economic diversification programs, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Qatar and UAE next Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop, because it has pledged to make big investments in the U.S., but Trump ended up traveling to Italy last month for Pope Francis’ funeral. Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.The three countries on the president’s itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are all places where the Trump Organization, run by Trump’s two elder sons, is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine are isolating the United States from allies.He’s expected to announce deals with the three wealthy countries that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The administration earlier this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets.But Trump arrived in the Middle East at a moment when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach. Trump’s decision to skip Israel remarkable, expert says Before the trip, Trump announced that Washington was halting a nearly two-month U.S. airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.The administration didn’t notify Israel — which the Houthis continue to target — of the agreement before Trump publicly announced it. It was the latest example of Trump leaving the Israelis in the dark about his administration’s negotiations with common adversaries.In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t notified by the administration until after talks began with Hamas about the war in Gaza. And Netanyahu found out about the ongoing U.S. nuclear talks with Iran only when Trump announced them during an Oval Office visit by the Israeli leader last month.“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said last week following Trump’s Houthi truce announcement. “If others join us — our American friends — all the better.”William Wechsler, senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s decision to skip Israel on his first Middle East visit is remarkable.“The main message coming out of this, at least as the itinerary stands today, is that the governments of the Gulf … are in fact stronger friends to President Trump than the current government of Israel at this moment,” Wechsler said. Restarting efforts to normalize Israel-Saudi ties Trump, meanwhile, hopes to restart his first-term effort to normalize relations between the Middle East’s major powers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump’s Abraham Accords effort led to Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.But Riyadh has made clear that in exchange for normalization it wants U.S. security guarantees, assistance with the kingdom’s nuclear program and progress on a pathway to Palestinian statehood. There seems to be scant hope for making headway on a Palestinian state with the Israel-Hamas war raging and the Israelis threatening to flatten and occupy Gaza.Prince Mohammed last week notably hosted Palestinian Vice President Hussein Sheikh in Jeddah on the sheikh’s first foreign visit since assuming office in April.Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the crown prince appeared to be subtly signaling to Trump that the kingdom needs to see progress on Palestinian statehood for the Saudis to begin seriously moving on a normalization deal with the Israelis.“Knowing how the Saudis telegraph their intentions, that’s a preemptive, ‘Don’t even think of asking us to show any goodwill toward normalization,'” Abdul-Hussain said. Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. —Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press